Arteta Criticizes Refereeing After Rice Red Card

Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Brighton in the Premier League was marred by a controversial red card shown to Declan Rice, leading to manager Mikel Arteta's outcry over inconsistent officiating. Rice received his first career red card after a second yellow for kicking the ball away during a free-kick, a decision that Arteta and player Bukayo Saka deemed harsh and inconsistent compared to similar incidents by Brighton players that went unpunished. The incident occurred just after halftime while Arsenal was leading 1-0, thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz. Joao Pedro equalized for Brighton shortly after Rice's dismissal, which left Arsenal to play defensively for the remainder of the match. Arteta expressed disbelief at the lack of consistency in officiating, noting that decisions like Rice's should be uniformly applied across both teams. The draw cost Arsenal their first points of the season, with Rice now suspended for their upcoming North London Derby.